Matthew began his story. Since his childhood everyone thought of him as a disappointment. His father was a basketball player. He was gifted, to say the least. At least Matthew was ahead of his elder brother in academics and had a body that screamed of his future as a basketball player.
turning eleven, his father was always always sleepy and tired, but despite everything he was still training. At times their father would complain about. feeling numbness on his hands and feet, but wrote it off as just consequence of constant exercise.
At the age of twelve, their father began having headaches and lack of sleep which was too much for him to handle, so their mother took him to the hospital. Turned out their father had a rare disease, called acromegaly.
Finally at the age of fourteen, he lost his father while his mother moved on to marry another man. This situation left his elder brother in deep depression, which led to alcoholism and distance between them. But at least his brother's okay now.
Christopher on the other hand was scanning Matthew's wrist, yet he didn't see the tattoo neither the scar as he called it. He swore, and looked carefully on his wrist but saw nothing. controlling himself, he rose, backing away from Matthew. I'm not on drugs, alcohol or anything, he thought.
But it was difficult for Christopher to convince himself this was true; both his intuition and his emotions told him that something was wrong.
And I am sensible, Christopher reminded himself. Taking a long breath, he moved to the basin to rinse his hands. He had to be smart. He crept a smile across his mouth as he dried his hands.
*******
There was a long high-pitched scream coming from the corridor. There was the whirl and whine of machinery, the electronic buzz and beeps from video games; tinny music floated all over, but for the most part, there's was the sound of people. They were laughing, calling, talking, shouting.
Where is Theresa, Christopher thought. she hadn't showed up. Shaking his head, not too long Christopher watched as Matthew and her walked into school. He slipped his arms around Theresa's shoulders, then pursued the romance by dangling a teddy bear in front of her face. He earned a quick jab in the ribs.
The crowd of students that gathered to look was large, to watch the live entertainment of these two. Rage welled in Christopher, he had been preoccupied this weekend after the dinner that he hadn't heard a word from him. At first, Theresa had acted as though she didn't like Matthew and now_. His desire to speak with her had faded at that moment, however. After all what right did he have to criticize if she liked him or not?. He had a bright future ahead of him. To graduate with a scholarship, leave the country to stay with his parents. Rather than_. He cut himself from such thought
As he was walking down the path in the park, Christopher loved been alone at the park, but Theresa's presence with Matthew disgusted him the more. Flashbacks started coming and ended as fast as they came making him even more solemn.
While at the park, he felt the presence of someone watching him. He turned around to scan the area but no one. Seemed suspicious_ except the person standing by the bush dressed in a black hoodie and black joggers.
When the rays of the moonlight reflected on his face. Christopher still couldn't picture who exactly the person was but he kept on staring towards the direction of Theresa and Matthew, strange huh?, He thought.
The came a commotion caused by one of the audience, a middle-aged man stripped out of his jacket and attempted to ring the bell. The hammer came down with a loud thump, but the ball rose only halfway up the pole. He rubbed his hands together and prepared to try it again.
Turning around, he didn't find the strange person at that spot.
He sat to watch as Matthew took Theresa's hands and kissed them.
********
Matthew noticed Christopher from where he was. He felt as Theresa tried to tug her hands from his, distressed by the power she felt rushing through her system. It was imperative, for reasons only half-formed in his brain, that he kept their relationship casual.
"oh? Let's ride the roller coaster," taking her hand, he set off in a Sprint. He stopped at the ticket booth, and gratefully she caught her breath. "What are you thinking?" Matthew demanded as he paid for their ride.
"What about Chris?_ I miss him already," she added frowning.
"Find a way and tell him there's nothing going on between us." He rubbed his chin and avoided a trio of teenagers.
"With us having fun like this?" she jerked her head towards where Christopher was sitting down, engrossed in his phone.
Matthew laughed. He tried to let her not feel guilty, since she hadn't spoken to Christopher. She kept her hand in Matthew's
Matthew wasn't satisfied with the first ride. He pulled Theresa to ride after ride.
From the top of the wheel, they watched the coloured lights of the park. The wind tossed her hair into her face. Matthew took it in his hands as they rose toward the top again. Theresa relaxed against him, finding her head fit naturally in the curve of his shoulders. Held close beside him, she watched the world revolves. Above the stars were scattered and few. A warning moon shifted in and out of the clouds. The air was cool with a hint of the pool. She sighed, utterly content.
"When's the last time you had fun?"
"Had fun?" Theresa tilted her head to look at him. Their faces were close, but she felt no danger now, oh satisfaction.
Matthew caught the confusion on her face. The wheel slowed, then stopped. Then carts rocked gently as old passengers were exchanged for new ones. She remembered times when she had been very young and everything was just her, Christopher, church and books
"I'm not allowed out. The reason I'm out here tonight is because it's a school organized event." She stood up but the attendant didn't let because they had one more ride.
This time, as Christopher walked, he looked and saw them going on the wheel again. He saw several people mostly teenagers in his class. Steering himself toward the East end of the park he saw the man on black hoodie again. This time close to the wheel switch. Seeing that nobody was watching, the man pressed a button on the switch of the wheel Theresa and Matthew were on.
Christopher was silent for a while. Something seemed to explode inside him, fear. Fear tumbled too quickly for him to control as the wires began to spark from inside affecting the speed of the wheel. As panic swamped him, he watched as the stranger ran off quickly.
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